


"SNAKE PIT"

by EvilAdmin



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: A post-apocalyptic AU, And a pit, Light ABO Dynamics, M/M, Minor Character Death Mentioned, Violence, Water Shortage, Yes there are snakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-05-21 16:16:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14918681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilAdmin/pseuds/EvilAdmin
Summary: Fifteen years ago an apocalypse devastated the planet, leaving it a hot, dry, barren wasteland.  For those who survived, it’s a day-to-day struggle to stay alive with little to no water. Will Graham lives in a peaceful community that’s better off than most as it has a trade agreement for water with a nearby community that discovered an underground water source on their territory.  But when the truck that goes to pick up their regular shipment of water vanishes with Will’s friend Alana Bloom on board, Jack Crawford and Will leave the safety of their community to try and discover what happened.  But discovering the truth may cost them both their lives.Based on a short story by Connie Faddis.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter story I came up with for your summer reading pleasure. I hope you enjoy! -EA

[](http://imgbox.com/EIBqKfbF)      

 

Heat.  Glare.  A suffocating lack of moisture.  It was the litany of the world now, every day.  It was humanity’s legacy since the apocalypse that happened 15 years ago, and it had baked aspiration and civilization out of the world like it had baked the earth to a parched, barren wasteland. 

Water.  Water was life.  Without water, death followed quickly, and there had been a lot of death.  Changes in weather patterns had reduced the frequency of rain to once a month, if they were lucky.  Unfortunately, luck was a word seldom used nowadays.  There was one exception:  a settlement called Purgatory.  They had been extremely lucky.  When they had chosen the spot to set up their community, they had chosen an area of mostly broken down buildings that butted up against the side of a mountain.  Shortly thereafter, one of their people had discovered a cave in that mountain that had led him to an underground cavern where he discovered a continuous flow of fresh, clean water.  Purgatory ended up having the only known source of water within a hundred miles in any direction. 

Word eventually leaked out to other nearby communities that Purgatory had discovered water, and they were immediately attacked by desperate groups intent on gaining control of the water source.  But Purgatory’s leader was a man by the name of Dolarhyde, and he was a strong, vicious alpha.  His first lieutenant, an alpha by the name of Lecter, was said to be as ruthless and cunning as they came.  All attacks had been easily thwarted, the attackers systematically slaughtered, and any survivors were either added to their ranks, if they had any value, or killed.  Rumors had also been circulating that some in Purgatory practiced cannibalism. 

Nine miles east of Purgatory was a community called Camp Science.  It was given its name by Jack Crawford, the alpha who founded it and was their leader.  Camp Science was a peaceful community that housed a group of people dedicated to trying to preserve and reestablish the sciences before they were lost forever.  Among their ranks were scientists, doctors, chemists, engineers, builders … people with the skillsets and desire to try and bring the world back to some semblance of the way it was, before that knowledge was lost and the world reverted back to the Stone Age. 

Of course, not everyone in the new world wanted things to go back to the way they were.  There were those outside of Camp Science who reveled in the new world order.  These tended to be strong, aggressive alphas who gathered people under their dominion and ran their little fiefdoms with an iron fist and enjoyed having the power of life and death over their people and being worshiped like a deity.  Dolarhyde was among those.  He liked the new world order just fine. 

After Camp Science learned of the water and heard about the number of failed attacks on Purgatory, Alana Bloom approached Jack and convinced him to let her go to Purgatory to try and negotiate a trade with Dolarhyde for water.  She convinced Jack that if he sent in two omegas to act as an emissary, things might have a better outcome.  After all, there’s nothing whatsoever threatening about a couple of omegas just coming to talk.  Jack had been reluctant to let her try, worried for her safety, but he had finally relented, the chance of getting water being too tempting to pass up.  Alana had chosen her friend Will Graham to go with her so he could use his empathy to read the leader, and she had brought two bushels of fresh vegetables grown in their hydroponic greenhouses to offer to him as a gift.  The deal she would offer him was simple and straightforward:  fresh vegetables in exchange for fresh water. 

Alana and Will were allowed inside the imposing gates of Purgatory and granted an audience with Dolarhyde.  At the meeting, Will hadn’t needed his empathy to see how Dolarhyde had looked greedily at the offering of fresh vegetables.  Purgatory may have had water, but apparently they had little skill at farming.  And so a deal had been struck. 

From that point on Alana would go twice monthly in the supply truck with three guards accompanying her to make the exchange.  Dolarhyde had insisted as part of the agreement that Alana accompany the deliveries.  Will had known that the alpha had been enamored of his beautiful friend and had used this as an excuse to see her regularly.  This arrangement had been going on for two years now without a hitch, and although Alana sometimes stayed later when invited to dine with their leader, she had always returned by a certain time.  That is, until today. 

 *     *     *     *     *

Will Graham stood atop the walled fence that surrounded his small circle of civilization, pulling his shirt away from his sweat-soaked body as he paced, occasionally scanning the barren western horizon, hoping to see the truck that would herald the return of his friend and fellow omega, Alana Bloom.  Alana was now three hours past the time she normally returned from her trade runs to Purgatory, and he was worried.  She had had three armed alphas accompanying her, but not only had the truck not yet returned, no one was responding to their hails on the walkie-talkie. 

Will felt his anxiety increasing with each passing minute.  He just had a feeling in his gut that something was wrong, and unfortunately his gut was seldom wrong.  He stopped pacing and shielded his eyes against the glare of the sun as he saw a vehicle approaching in the distance, and his heart gave a lurch of hope, but he realized quickly that the vehicle was too small.  It was the jeep Jack had sent out to drive the route to Purgatory to see if there was any sign of the truck or any indication of what happened to it.  Will had hoped it was something as simple as engine trouble. 

He ran down from the parapet as the jeep drove through the gates to see what the team had discovered.  When he got down there, Beverly Katz was already giving her report to Jack. 

“No signs of the truck or any signs of an attack,” she said.  The tire tracks were already obscured by the wind so we can’t tell if the truck actually made it to Purgatory or not, but we saw no signs of bullet casings, no skid marks in the dirt—nothing to indicate that they were ambushed.  And although we’ve continued to try, we still haven’t received a response on the walkie-talkie.” 

“We need to find out if the truck made it to Purgatory or not,” Jack said.  “I’m going to assemble a team and head over there and see if I can find out just what the hell happened.”   

“A team?  No-no-no,” Will said, finally speaking up.  “Jack, this needs to be handled diplomatically.  If you go over there with a team of alphas acting all Rambo before we actually know what happened and Dolarhyde gets the impression you’re accusing him, he could decide to break the trade agreement and cut off our water entirely.” 

“But we need to find out whether the supply truck arrived at Purgatory or not,” Jack said, running a hand through his hair in agitation. 

“I agree.  But, let me go instead and see what happened.  If Alana and the truck made it there, I’ll see if I can find out what’s going on.  If the truck never arrived, maybe I can talk Dolarhyde into helping us with the search.  I know he likes Alana.  But what we don’t want to do is go charging over there and risk a misunderstanding, or falsely accuse them.  Our relationship with Purgatory is by no means friendly, but it’s been beneficial to both sides for the past couple of years and I can’t believe they would do anything to risk it.” 

Jack took a deep breath and looked like he was thinking it over.  “Fine, you can go.  But I’m going with you.  As the leader I need to know what’s going on so I can properly assess the situation and act accordingly.” 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Jack,” Beverly said.  “You’re our leader and you would be walking into an unknown and potentially hostile situation.  We can’t risk anything happening to you.”

“Plus,” Will added, “having you there might put Dolarhyde on the defensive.  He won’t react defensively with an omega.  Let Bev come with me instead and we’ll give you a full report upon our return.” 

“Sure,” Bev said.  “Betas aren’t perceived as a threat to alphas like Dolarhyde, and I’ll watch Will’s back while we find out what the situation is.” 

“The fact that this affects our water supply makes this situation critical,” Jack said.  “What if another community made them a better offer and they’re giving them our water now?   What if Purgatory was attacked and overthrown since Alana’s last visit and Dolarhyde is no longer even in charge, and perhaps the new alpha in charge decided to keep Alana?  There are just too many unknown variables.  No offense to you, Will, but as the leader I will be able to make snap judgements, such as re-negotiating our deal with Purgatory, if that’s what it takes.  Or, if Purgatory has been overthrown by another community, I can see if I can negotiate a trade with its new leadership.  I’ll do whatever it takes to get our missing people back and get water for our community.  Besides, I’ll have you there with me to help read the situation.” 

Will looked at Bev, who just shrugged and shook her head, and he sighed in frustration.  Too many things could go wrong here.  If Dolarhyde was still in charge, having Jack go in there and talk to him would be like putting two strange pit bulls in the same room and expecting them to play nice.  If Alana were here she would know what to say to talk Jack out of going, but he didn’t have her gift for argument.  He just bowed his head, submitting to the alpha’s decision. 

 

Jack and Will quickly drove the nine miles to Purgatory and parked outside its tall stone wall.  They got out of their vehicle and approached the wooden gates on foot with their hands in front of them, showing that they were carrying no weapon.  The fate of their entire community rested on what happened at this meeting and Will felt the weight of it bearing down on him.  He just prayed that Alana was in there and that this was all some big misunderstanding. 

Will could feel dozens of eyes staring down at them from atop the wall.  They stopped in front of the gate and Jack yelled out, “We’re here to speak to Dolarhyde.  We’re from Camp Science.  We’re just here to talk.” 

As they awaited a reply, Will examined the wall, looking for any signs that Purgatory had been attacked recently.  It had been two years since he was here last and he could see that improvements had been made to the wall since that time.  He was examining one of those improvements when Jack suddenly bumped into him, and Will turned and looked at him questioningly.  He frowned when he saw that the alpha had a bewildered expression on his face and that his mouth was open as if he was trying to say something, but nothing was coming out. 

“What’s wrong, Jack?” Will asked, and then jumped back in surprise as a dart whizzed past him and embedded itself into Jack’s shoulder near another dart that Will had somehow missed seeing.  Jack fell and Will felt panic set in.  His omega instincts were screaming at him to run, and he started to back away, but he couldn’t just abandon Jack.  “We’re just here to talk!” he yelled out in desperation.  He felt a sting in his thigh then, and as he looked down he saw a similar dart.  His legs suddenly collapsed under him, numbed, and the numbness was spreading throughout his body.  He slumped to the ground facing Jack and could see the alpha’s eyes blazing with anger.  All Will could think was, how had the people of Purgatory developed such an effective paralyzing agent? 

The large gates opened then and four guards came running out, and he and Jack were hauled inside the gates.  The sound of the gates closing behind them gave Will a trapped feeling that sent a chill running down his spine despite the heat.  Will spotted their supply truck then parked off to the side.  So, their truck had made it here, but then what had happened?    

He frowned as he smelled the reek of alcohol on his guards.  As he and Jack were pulled through the community he heard excited chatter.  The atmosphere felt almost festive.  This didn’t feel right.  During his previous visit things had felt very different.  Something had changed.  

They were hauled into the basement of a broken down building and dumped unceremoniously onto the hard cement floor.  Their guards then tied them back to back to a support beam in the middle of the room.  Will kept trying to talk, but his mouth wouldn’t work.  He also couldn’t feel the bonds at all that had his hands lashed behind him to the beam, but whatever he’d been dosed with had heightened his non-tactile senses acutely and he was feeling anger mixed with growing fear.  His thoughts turned to Alana and he wondered what had become of her and her escort. 

As the guards left without a word he breathed in deeply, trying to take comfort in Jack’s familiar alpha scent, but Jack’s scent was tainted with his own swell of emotions, leaving a bitter metallic taste on the back of Will’s tongue. 

 

A few hours went by and Will’s throat scratched with dryness.  It was night now and the room was plunged in inky shadows cut sharply by patches of brilliant moonlight peering through a window set above them at ground level outside, but at least the temperature had cooled a couple of degrees, making it more tolerable.  Will had slowly gotten the feeling back in his body, but with it came extreme discomfort as his butt ached from sitting long hours on the hard cement floor and his wrists felt abraded by the tight bindings around them. 

Outside Will could hear drunken, clamorous voices, and the sound of raucous music drifting into the improvised brig with fluctuating intensity. 

Behind him, Will felt and heard Jack squirming against his bonds as the paralyzing agent was finally starting to wear off him as well.  Jack had taken longer to recover as the big alpha had been shot with two darts.  Will could hear Jack’s grunts of exertion as he struggled, but the leather ties were tied tight and getting loose was hopeless.  Jack kept struggling until his lacerated wrists convinced him that it was no use.  His panting subsided, and he fell silent. 

“They must be getting worried about us back at our camp,” Will said slowly, his mouth still feeling slightly numb.  “Do you think someone will come looking for us?” 

“I left Beverly in charge but left instructions not to make any sort of move until she hadn’t heard from us for at least 24 hours,” Jack said, his words slurred slightly by the paralyzing agent.   

_Oh._

“I’m still hopeful that we’ll be brought before Dolarhyde so we can find out just what the hell is happening here.” 

“Things feel different, Jack.  Alana has never mentioned to me before that these people drink, but they’re certainly drinking today.  The atmosphere feels almost festive, like they’re celebrating something.  Did you see the supply truck parked near the gates?”   

“I saw it, and that’s one of many things I plan to ask Dolarhyde about when he decides to make time in his busy schedule to meet with us,” Jack said, clearly agitated.   

“I just hope Alana’s okay,” Will said. 

Silence followed then, both deep in their own thoughts.  They said nothing for the length of time it took a single bright star to cross Will’s field of vision out the window.  Will shifted his weight, trying to find a more tolerable position in which to sit.  The clamor from outside filtered in more loudly for a few moments, then subsided again into a dull background roar.  Will had heard screams of pain among the screams of delight in that last outburst of voices, and he shuddered as his imagination was threatening to run away at full tilt. 

Some time later footsteps were heard coming down the stairs and a torch was thrust through the door, momentarily blinding Will.  _This is it,_ he thought, his heart hammering wildly in his chest.  When his vision adjusted to the torchlight he saw five people standing around them, and he recognized the one who was standing right in front of him:  Hannibal Lecter, Dolarhyde’s first lieutenant.  Since Lecter was just looking down at him and not saying anything, Will decided to speak first.  “I don’t know if you remember me or not …” 

“Will Graham, Lecter said, suddenly kneeling down close in front of him and startling Will into drawing his knees up protectively in front of his body.  “I remember you quite well in fact.  It’s been a long time.” 

Will licked his dry lips.  He remembered Hannibal Lecter quite well too.  He had only seen the man the one time during his visit with Alana for the water negotiations, but the alpha had left an impression.  He and Alana had been taken to a courtyard where Dolarhyde was seated on a comfortable chair placed on a raised platform, elevating him above everyone else, and Lecter had been standing at this side.  Both alphas were shirtless, their bronzed bodies coated with sweat and glistening in the sun.  They were an impressive-looking pair.  The omega part of Will had appreciated the view, but what he hadn’t appreciated were the two scantily clad omegas sitting at Dolarhyde’s feet who kept touching him and looking up at him for any crumb of recognition or affection.  Dolarhyde had acted like he didn’t even know they were there as his eyes were fixed on Alana with apparent interest. 

Lecter had no such omegas at his feet, but Will noticed with increasing discomfort that every time he glanced over at Lecter, the alpha’s eyes were fixed on him.  Then later on when they were leaving, Will had felt a presence behind him, and when he turned around Lecter had been practically on top of him, and he could swear the alpha had been sniffing him.  It had been unsettling. 

Although Alana had asked him on several occasions if he would like to accompany her on her bi-monthly food/water exchange runs, he declined because he didn’t want to risk running into Lecter again.  And now here they were, and he still seemed to be the subject of Lecter’s scrutiny as the alpha was looking at him with unnerving intensity.  He decided to just try and ignore it and move on.  “Hannibal Lecter, may I introduce Jack Crawford, the leader of Camp Science.  Jack, this is Hannibal Lecter, Francis Dolarhyde’s first lieutenant,” Will said, glancing up briefly and meeting the intimidating man’s eyes. 

“Pleased to meet you,” Jack said, trying to twist around despite his bonds to look at the other man.  “I hope you’re here to take us to Dolarhyde.  Whatever is happening here, I’m sure there’s been some sort of misunderstanding and we can clear it up in no time.” 

All Will could do was nod in agreement.  Lecter hadn’t taken his eyes off him this entire time and his intense gaze was making him squirm. 

“Dolarhyde is no longer in charge here,” Lecter said finally, reaching out and rubbing a curl of Will’s hair between his fingers.  “I am.” 

Will looked at Lecter in surprise then.  “What happened?” he asked with concern, trying to ignore what the alpha was doing.  “Was your settlement attacked?” 

“No, nothing like that,” he said calmly, still touching Will’s hair.  “I staged a little coup and killed him.  We didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, you see.” 

_Oh shit._

Will’s brain was working furiously.  “The alcohol I smell on your people.  That’s your doing, isn’t it?  You got them drunk.” 

Hannibal smiled then.  “Oh, you are a clever one.  I knew it the first time I saw you.  Yes, I took some of the corn you provided us and managed to make a crude corn liquor.  Once everyone was fairly intoxicated it was easy enough to eliminate Dolarhyde and his staunchest supporters and assume control.  The rest of the people have been so drunk for the past couple of days that they don’t even think to care.  I’m hosting a series of games and contests, much like the Romans used to do with their gladiatorial games to promote support and acceptance of my new leadership.  In a couple of days the alcohol will be gone and everything will go back to normal, but with me in charge, of course.” 

All Will could think was _cold, calculating, brilliant_.  He turned his face away, unable to deal with the man’s piercing eyes, and suddenly felt a finger trail down the side of his neck.  He gasped in surprise, looking at the alpha in open-mouthed shock.  An alpha touching an omega’s throat is an incredibly intimate act, and entirely inappropriate when the two parties barely know each other. 

“Will, are you all right!” Jack asked, apparently having heard his gasp. 

“I’m fine, Jack,” Will said in a shaky voice.  “Big spider ran over my leg is all,” he improvised, bringing his shoulders up to try and protect his neck. 

“You never came back after that first visit, Will,” Hannibal said.  “Why not?” 

“There was no reason for me to,” Will replied simply. 

“I see,” Hannibal stated coldly, standing up abruptly.  “Bring the alpha,” he commanded. 

“Wait, where are you taking him?” Will asked in a panic.  “Take me too!” 

As one of the alphas cut Jack’s bonds from the pole Jack said, “Will, if you get a chance to run, do it.  Don’t worry about me.”  As soon as Jack’s hands were free he lashed out.  He must have figured out that Lecter wasn’t taking him somewhere to renegotiate their agreement and decided this might be their only chance to escape.  Jack was able to take two of them down before the crunch of a bludgeon sent him crashing to his knees, stunned. 

“Jack!” Will yelled, wriggling around the beam as far as he could, twisting, trying to get a look at Jack.  He heard Jack’s grunt of pain as one of the guards kicked him. 

“Stop it!” he yelled.  Looking up at Lecter he said, “I don’t understand.  What do you want from us?” 

“Everything,” Lecter said with a cold smile.  He left the room then, the four men dragging Jack behind him. 

Will had seen blood trickling down Jack’s face.  What were they going to do with Jack?  What were they going to do with him?  In his surprise he had forgotten to ask about Alana.  He tugged at his bonds furiously to see if they had loosened at all, and when he saw that they hadn’t, he let out a frustrated sob and put his forehead on his knees and quietly wept. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter Will finds out Jack's fate, as well as the fate of Alana and her crew.


	2. Chapter 2

A shaft of sunlight stabbed through his closed eyelids, and Will awoke, his neck cramped painfully.  He looked around muzzily for a moment and came to full consciousness with a jerking awareness.  Daylight!  And from the angle of the light streaming into his eyes through the window it was late in the morning.  He pushed himself up straight against the post and wriggled his numbed fingers, stretched the muscles in his shoulders and back as best he could.  He had a brow-beating headache and his nose was clogged.  His throat was stripped with dryness. 

Then he noticed how quiet it was.  There were voices, still, but the clamor of the previous night was gone.  The relative silence was ominous, as ominous as the howls of glee and pain he’d heard in the darkness, but he feared this more:  His imagination could encompass what the noise might have entailed, but he had no idea at all what this dread quiet might mean.  He strained his ears for some clue, and was rewarded with footsteps coming down the stairs.  He braced himself, for what he didn’t know, gnawing his lower lip with fright. 

A brief flurry of voices erupted just outside, and a silhouette stepped through the doorway:  Alana!  Alive, unhurt, and unrestrained. 

Will felt a wave of intense relief go through him as Alana knelt beside him and began untying the leather bindings that held him.  Everything was going to be all right now. 

“Are you okay?” Alana asked. 

“I think so,” Will blurted in relief.  “We came looking for you.  What happened?  Where’s Jack?  I was so afraid they had hurt you.”    

Alana put a hand to his mouth, a gentle yet authoritative gesture. 

“There isn’t much time.  Hannibal has agreed to release you.  You’re to leave here immediately and go back to our settlement,” she told him, helping him to his feet. 

Will groaned as he straightened, and rubbed his wrists clumsily to stimulate the circulation.  His overtaxed mind was more than willing to obey Alana’s instructions, except that he couldn’t help being worried about Jack.  He resisted Alana’s coaxing assistance toward the door. 

“Alana—wait.  Isn’t Jack coming, too?  And what about you?” 

The omega’s face pulled into a frown.  “Jack’s fine,” Alana said quickly.  “We’re both remaining here to resume negotiations.  I’ll explain everything later.” 

She was lying.  Will knew it instantly.  He didn’t need to be an empath to see that she refused to meet his eyes, that she seemed almost desperate to get him to leave.  The implications knotted his stomach.  He spun and clasped Alana’s hands urgently.  “Alana, the truth.  Where’s Jack?” 

Alana winced.  “He’s talking with Hannibal—“

Will shook his head violently. _“_ No, _the truth!_ ” 

Undone, Alana groaned.  “I never could lie to you.  It doesn’t matter though, Will, we can’t help him.  We’re fortunate Hannibal is willing to let you go.  And you must go.  _Now._   There may not be another chance.” 

Will’s mind whirled and threw out an image:  Jack finding him when was 12 years old after his father had died and he was living on his own, close to starvation.  Jack taking him in and making sure he was taken care of.  Jack bearing the responsibility of every single person in their community and bearing it well.  He was a tough leader, overly stubborn sometimes, but fair.  And Will was not going to abandon that man now and leave him behind to an unknown fate. 

“Alana,” he growled, “I’m not budging until I know what’s happened to Jack.  I have to know.” 

Surprised at his vehemence, Alana literally squirmed under his stormy gaze.  The resolve in his eyes would permit no deception.  It was almost a relief to tell him. 

“There’s a … it’s like a game,” she sighed, wrestling with words.  “Hannibal’s set up games to keep the people amused so they’ll be happy with his new leadership, and these people are loving it.  They even put bets on how long the victim’s will last.” 

_The victims?_

“We can’t help Jack, Will.  He’s in the snake pit.  He’s probably dead, believe me.  You must take this chance and leave here, save your own life.  Hannibal’s been plying these people with alcohol for a couple days now and that brings out the worst in people.  So you need to go now before he changes his mind,” she pleaded. 

“Snake pit?” Will said, stunned, his mind having a hard time processing this.  “Are we talking about an actual pit with actual live … snakes?” 

“I’m afraid so.”   

 _Shit._   “But what about you, Alana?  And what happened to your guards?” he asked.    

“I’ll be fine here.  I’m safe.  Hannibal is keeping me around as a possible mate, so I intend to use that to try and reestablish trade relations between our community and Hannibal’s regime.  I’ll do whatever I have to do to get water for our people,” she said with determination.  “The guards … they were thrown into the pit yesterday for the people’s amusement.  They’re dead.” 

 _Dead?_   Will was filled with sudden fury.  Lecter had plotted and had taken over this community by plying them with alcohol and killing the man he was supposed to be serving under, and now by cutting off their water supply and eliminating Jack he was probably plotting to take over their community as well.  He was manipulating pieces around to where he wanted them.  Well, Will Graham was no one’s pawn. 

“I will not leave Jack here with these drunken animals and that sadist!” he vowed. 

“Be reasonable, Will,” Alana said, desperately.  “Jack’s beyond our help by now.  I don’t want to lose you too,” she said, looking at him pleadingly.    

“All right, maybe Jack is dead, but I want to see for myself.  And if you don’t take me there right away, I’m going to grab the nearest guard’s weapon and start a fight,” he threatened, meaning every word. 

“You can’t do that!” 

“I will do it.” 

“You’ll get us both killed!” 

“Maybe, but you can bet I’ll take a few of these bastards with us,” he said flatly. 

“You’re overwrought, Will,” she groaned.  She studied Will, weighing the alternatives.  “All right,” she gave in, “I’ll see if we can take a quick look.  I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.” 

She strode to the doorway to step outside to talk to the guards. 

“Alana,” he called after her, “either we see Jack or there will be trouble, and that is a promise.” 

Alana hesitated, then went out.  Will looked around the room, selecting the cleanest corner in which to sit.  He was bone-weary, as worn as he could ever remember.  He questioned, for the first time, his compulsion to confirm Jack’s fate.  Alana was probably right, he was surely dead.  The cold look on Lecter’s face last night as he had had Jack hauled away sent a shiver through him and made him want to leave this place just as fast as he could.  But he would not leave until he was sure.  He thought it was because he couldn’t face going back to the community and telling them that Jack was dead, but he realized that he would also not be able to live with himself.     

 

The heat worked on Will’s resolve, broiling more of his compulsion out of him with every step under the glaring noon sun.  An impression of crowds around him made Will force his squinting eyes open, and he realized there were people all around where he walked, reclining on blankets or mats, under impromptu lean-tos made from tarps and sheets.  The people laughed, shouted, pointed, sat up.  They might have been on a picnic.   

Ahead of him loomed a very wide, circular pit lined with shaped stone.  It was big, easily the size of the basement he’d been tied up in.  Will walked slowly toward the pit’s edge, and the people rolled out of his way cordially.  Will kept his eyes straight ahead, oblivious to everything but the pit. 

He stopped at the edge of the pit and took a breath … then gazed down in horror to the flagstone floor ten feet down, feeling in that moment like he was standing on the lip of hell.  Alana had called it the snake pit and she hadn’t been kidding.  He saw at least a hundred snakes in the pit of different sizes and varieties.  Some he recognized from his youth in Louisiana—cottonmouth, copperhead, diamondback rattler—and he knew these snakes to be poisonous.  Others he couldn’t identify, but they were probably all lethal to some extent. 

And there was Jack in the middle of it all.  He was alive.  He lay utterly still, on his side, with his wrists bound in front of him, but Will could see his chest moving as he breathed.  His skin was naked to the searing sun, and several snakes were coiled in the meager shade cast by his torso. 

Every nerve in Will demanded a scream.  He spun away and Alana was there to grasp his arms.  She restrained him tightly, but not so tightly as he restrained his own horror.  He was in control, and he thought furiously. 

“You’ve seen him, Will,” she said, looking visibly upset herself.  “Now go,” she said firmly, trying to push him in the direction of the gates. 

Will glanced over and saw Hannibal Lecter sitting on a raised dais at the edge of the snake pit, shaded from the sun under a canopy and sipping a cool drink while watching them.  _That pompous asshole!_ he thought, as rage swept through him. 

“No, I can’t leave, Alana” Will breathed, thinking furiously.  Then, with more vigor, “You told me these people like games and can’t resist a bet.  Well I’m about to make the bet of a lifetime,” he said, pulling away from her and storming toward Lecter, stopped by two guards before he could get too close. 

“Have you lost your mind!” Alana said, grabbing at his arm, which he shook off. “You can’t save him!  You realize that Jack’s already been bitten.” 

“I see the symptoms, but there still may be a chance to save him if I can get him out of there.” 

Alana saw the resolve on his face and sighed in defeat, stepping back, seeing it was useless to argue with him further.   

“I’d like to propose a wager,” Will shouted out to Hannibal, loud enough so that everyone in the area could hear him.” 

Hannibal stood up and waved the guards away and came to stand in front of him.  “I’m listening,” he said calmly.  

“I’ll wager that I can go into the pit, with only a knife, and bring Jack out without either of us being bitten.” 

The response to Will’s proposal was a pandemonium of excited cheers and laughter.  Alana, on the other hand, gasped in horror, her eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets as she looked back into the pit.  “You’re completely insane!” she croaked.  “You haven’t a chance in hell down there!” 

Hannibal studied Will and a small smile appeared on his lips.  “So, we have an omega who thinks that he’s a mongoose and is willing to battle the snakes.” 

Will crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to break eye contact with the alpha.  “If I can get him out of there without either of us being bitten, we all three go free and you resume the water trade with us as previously agreed upon by Dolarhyde.  Do we have a deal?”  

There was utter silence now as the crowd watched and awaited their leader’s decision.  Will felt calm now that he had committed to a course of action.  He didn’t pretend that the risk wasn’t titanic, but neither was it impossible.  He listed his advantages in his head: 

_I don’t love snakes but I’m not afraid of them and I respect them.  I’m strong, and I’m quick.  Snakes typically will run from a confrontation if you let them.  Plus, the snakes are hot and most of them will stay in the shadows around the edges of the pit.  With a little luck I may be able to get Jack out without either of us being bitten._

Hannibal had cocked his head and was watching him, and Will could almost imagine that he was following his train of thought.  “I agree,” he said finally, to the sound of enthusiastic cheers.  “I’ll give you a knife, but I have a condition of my own.  You have to strip down.  I don’t want any margin of safety.  If you get bitten, I want to know it.  And if you do get bitten, neither of you will be allowed out of the pit alive.  Now, do we still have a deal?” 

Will stared at him for a moment before his mind clicked back into gear.  He could feel his face heating up.  “Deal,” he said.  Looking around, most of the people here wore little more than their underwear anyway, trying to stay as cool as possible in the heat.  Lecter was shirtless, but at least he wore trousers. 

Will averted his eyes and quickly stripped down to his boxers, alternating lifting his feet as they adjusted to the hot ground.  When he looked at Lecter and put his hand out for the knife, Hannibal’s eyes flicked down to the boxers and he quirked an eyebrow.    

Will looked at him angrily and turned bright red, then turned his body slightly away from the alpha and pulled off his boxers, trying to ignore the whistles and catcalls that followed.  He could feel Lecter’s gaze burning a path down his body and he shivered. 

Without looking at him Will put out his hand, and Lecter placed the hilt of the knife on his palm.  Will gripped the knife and settled it comfortably in his hand, testing the weight and the sharpness.  The hilt was wrapped in leather, which was good as it wouldn’t slip in his already sweaty hand. 

As he looked around he saw betting going on fast and furious, and he was being measured in every conceivable way, his chances weighed.  Some of the people were looking at him with visible approval, now:  they had bet on him—a long shot—and stood to win big if he survived.  He had every intention of surviving.     

Ignoring Hannibal, he pulled Alana aside and, looking at her anguished face, said, “Whatever happens, this was my choice, Alana.  If I fail and we both die, try to salvage things as best you can to prevent all-out war.”  He gave her a quick hug; then set off to begin walking the perimeter of the pit, looking for the best place from which to leap down.  The babble of voices died away, and the crowd backed away from the pit, waiting for him to choose his spot. 

As Will circled the pit, his bare skin cringed under the ruthless sun nearly overhead.  As he’d predicted, most of the snakes in the pit had slunk to the shadows near the east wall.  Those shadows would disappear in another twenty minutes, and the nasty-tempered serpents would start roaming around, seeking other shade.  But for now, they were out of his way.  Most of them. 

He stopped at the north wall and looked down.  This was the best place.  Only four snakes were between him and Jack here, and he might avoid a few of them, with luck.  Two snakes still lay in Jack’s shadow, but he would have to deal with them as best he could, if he got that far. 

Will glanced up and saw Lecter back on his dais watching him intently and resisted the urge to cover himself.  Looking back in the pit he took a deep breath, picked where he wanted to land, said a quick prayer, and jumped. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the wonderful response to the first chapter! I hope you’ll all join me for the next chapter to ssssssssssee what happens next!


	3. Chapter 3

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As soon as Will jumped into the pit, the spectators surged forward, scrambling for sitting room near the edge so they would have a good view of the action.   

Will landed on the flagstone about four feet from the closest snake.  The slate-eyed creature eyed him suspiciously, coiling its long black body into lazy loops that could spring out in stinging death.  Will stayed crouched where he landed, remaining perfectly still while studying the beast and planning his strategy. 

 _This isn’t a game_ , he reminded himself coldly.   _I could be dead soon_.  His stomach twisted with fear:  good, healthy fear that would make him careful and heighten his reflexes.  But his hands and knees threatened to overreact—he felt suddenly weak and shaky, dangerously shaky.  Despite the heat, his skin prickled with chills.  Some part of him was screaming for him not to move, to stay in that tiny space of safety and never move; to move was to die. 

 _To stay is to die_ , he countered with his intellect.  He took a deep, shaky breath and, keeping his eyes on the snake, he stalked it.  The serpent flung itself at him before he’d calculated, but he reacted without thinking, twisting out of its path, grabbing it with his free hand behind its ugly flared head and pressing the fleshy head against the flagstone, pinning it.  The tail end looped up around his restraining hand, a full three feet of powerful tail twisting and trying to wrench his arm from its head.  Will held the writhing animal for a long, paralyzed moment of blanked mind before he realized what he’d done, and must do.  Instinct alone had guided him, but now he took the knife and mechanically sliced off the snake’s head, pitching it far away from his bare feet.  The animal’s brownish blood sprayed his legs.  He tugged its still-lashing body from his arm and tossed it. 

Above him the crowd cheered and cursed, but he was already considering the next animal, a great-grandmother of a serpent with a fleshy head the size of a duck’s egg.  It was, by far, the longest snake in the pit.  Will began to creep up on it.  The whole situation seemed dreamlike, not quite real, and he had to remind himself over and over that this was real and that he needed to focus his full attention on what he was doing. 

The snake was huge, but its movements were sluggish.  Probably it had gotten too much sun in that exposed place or it would have slithered into the diminishing shadows.  Snakes were typically creatures of the twilight hours.  Will killed the big one almost casually. 

He wiped the sweat off his forehead with his arm and moved deliberately on to the third serpent when the air was suddenly filled with flying debris:  Threatened by his successes, someone in the crowd who had bet against Will was pelting the snakes with gravel, dirt and twigs.  It drove several snakes back into the sun, toward the center of the pit. 

Almost growling, Will pinned the third snake, but instead of beheading it, he flung it with all his might into the crowd in the general direction where the debris had come from.  Screams exploded from above, but he couldn’t see where he’d thrown the animal.  After a few moments, the screams stopped.  Someone had apparently dispatched the snake.  But nothing more was thrown after that. 

The fourth snake obligingly slithered away when Will approached, in no mood for a confrontation.  Which left only the two animals still coiled by Jack. 

For the first time since he’d entered the pit, Will actually looked at Jack.  He still lay in the same position on his side, and he was nearly facing him.  He had blood caked on the side of his face where the guard had clubbed him, and his eyes were open, but they were glazed.  He didn’t seem aware of him.  Where he wasn’t sunburned, his flesh was gray, and his hair was matted with sweat.  His right arm was swollen, telling Will that’s where he had already been bitten, and he was clearly in pain, but he suffered in silence, barely breathing.   

The two snakes in Jack’s shadow presented an enormous problem; one was looped partly across Jack’s arm near his chest, the other lay in the shade by his hip.  Coaxing them to coil and strike out so near to him was out of the question—there was no room to maneuver, and the slightest movement on Jack’s part could send fangs into his helpless body. 

There was no alternative.  Will knelt just out of range of the animals’ farthest possible strike, and waited.  The sun had slipped past the zenith, and the snakes in Jack’s shadow had lost that shadow.  They must move soon.  At least he hoped so. 

The sound of scales slithering across stone behind him startled Will, and he turned his head sharply.  He almost laughed in surprise and gratitude:  the serpents which had hidden in the shade of the east wall in the morning were seeking new shadows, but all of them kept to the walls of the pit as they searched.  After several long minutes, they discovered the meager shadows of the west wall.  There was a brief series of snaky confrontations while the territorial pecking order was sorted out, then the animals settled down to sleep, each in its own little defined circumference of shade. 

The smaller, darker of the two snakes near Jack was stirring.  Will stayed still, watching it, waiting.  Waiting.  Then he realized that Jack was looking at him, actually _seeing_ him.  Jack looked bewildered.  At any moment he might speak, or lift his head, or shift his legs.  Instant death when coupled with the bite he already suffered. 

“Jack, don’t move!” Will whispered.  “Stay still, don’t move a muscle.  Our lives depend on it.  Just lie quietly and close your eyes.” 

Jack might not have understood him.  He didn’t close his eyes, but he didn’t move, either.  His breathing picked up a little.  The darker snake on his arm had had enough; it slithered away toward the west wall. 

The final snake, however, showed no sign of noticing that its spot against Jack’s thigh was becoming uncomfortable.  But Jack had.  He moaned and shifted slightly.  The snake coiled up like a spring, agitated, and Will stood up quickly, drawing the snake’s attention away from Jack.  But Jack, delirious, pulled his arms toward his chest, groaning, and the snake reared up, vibrating in the curious vanguard to its strike. 

There could be no margin for error; Will sprang at the snake, flicking the knife in an arc.  Drawn to the broad motion, the snake struck, catching the blade with its fangs and knocking it out of Will’s hand.  Will cried out in alarm, but in the same instant instinctively caught the serpent behind the head and, dropping to his knees, pinned it to the ground.  It was much more powerful than he’d expected, and it encircled his arms so that he could not throw it.  He had no weapon.  Its tail lashed and looped powerfully, and he had to cling to it with both hands.  Desperately, he pounded it down against the stone floor.  Again, he smashed it down, and the snake thrashed wildly, squeezing his arms painfully.  Then, the third time, something gave.  Blood and green venom splattered over his hands, arms, neck, and chest.  He obliterated the remains of the animal’s skull on the flagstone, and threw its squirming body as far as he could.  Breathless, he dropped to his hands and stayed there, hunched over, gasping.  It was done.

The crowd above had gone wild.  Never had they seen such entertainment.  Even the losers were jubilant. 

As Will hung his head, the heat and exhaustion threatening to overtake him, the celebration was remote noise.  All he could hear was the sound of his own harsh breathing.  Suddenly, his neck stiffened, and a tingling sensation radiated from his neck down his spine and throughout his body.  He lifted his head and looked up … and Lecter was standing on the edge of the pit staring down at him, his gaze intense and heated, his breathing elevated, and his hands fisted at his sides.  Will felt confused at first until he released, with mortification, that he was naked, currently on his hands and knees, and had had his head down in the standard omega breeding pose.  He quickly scrambled to his feet feeling angry and humiliated as the snake’s blood and venom trailed down his body.  He looked back up at Hannibal then and gave him the best ‘fuck you’ glare he could muster under the circumstances. It didn’t last long, however, as he suddenly swayed on his feet, black dots starting to appear in front of his eyes.  The heat and lack of water were getting to him and he was close to passing out.  If he passed out now, he and Jack were as good as dead.  He had to finish this quickly, he was so close now. 

Somehow, he managed to get his arms under Jack’s torso and help stand him up, pulling Jack’s bound hands around his neck and holding onto the big alpha as they stumbled to the east wall of the pit, which was clear of snakes now.  As he lifted Jack’s bound hands toward the reaching hands above, he glanced up—right into the face of Hannibal Lecter.  He wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw a look of admiration in the alpha’s eyes.  Jack was pulled out, and then other hands helped Will out of the pit onto the sun-blasted heath. 

Someone was suddenly wrapping a blanket around him.  It was Alana, grinning with an astonished smile. “My God, Will, you did it!  That was incredible.” 

“I did it,” Will said numbly, looking around, trying to find Jack.  Will had been alarmed at how hot and feverish Jack’s body had felt.  He would need help immediately.  “Jack—“ he said. 

“Hannibal has agreed to treat him.  He has anti-venom serum here.  You may not believe this, but he used to be a doctor before the apocalypse,” she said excitedly.     

 _A doctor?_   He wanted to say more but those darn black spots were starting to move now, and as he swayed he reached his hand out automatically, reaching for an anchor.  He grabbed onto someone, and it turned out to be Lecter.  Will looked up at him, but he was growing increasingly unsteady as those black spots were spinning in on him.  He felt strong arms pick him up just before his legs gave out on him, and his face was suddenly pressed against Lecter’s throat, the alpha’s potent scent filling his nose.  He protested weakly, pushing against a furred chest and looked up at Lecter as the black spots expanded, starting to block out his vision.  “Jack?” he said weakly. 

“Don’t worry, Will,” Hannibal said, looking at him fondly, “I will see to him.” 

Will’s eyes fluttered shut then as everything went dark, his head falling back, exposing the long column of his throat to the alpha’s hungry gaze.  A couple of Hannibal’s guards approached to help their leader, but Hannibal surprised them and himself by growling at them.  They backed off and he cleared his throat and said, “I’ve got this under control.   “Bring the alpha,” he ordered, heading off with Will held possessively against him. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter.

_Will._

Will stirred in his sleep.  Something was calling him back to wakefulness, but he didn’t want to wake up.  He was so comfortable and the bed was so soft.  He tried to burrow his body deeper into the bedding. 

_Will._

Will took a deep breath and frowned.  Something was wrong.  The bedding was too soft and there was an unfamiliar scent in the air. 

_Will!_

Will’s eyes sprang open as he felt a large, warm hand on his bare shoulder, shaking him lightly, and when he spotted Hannibal Lecter leaning over him he let out an undignified squawk and scuttled sideways to the other side of the bed, feeling panicked.   He looked around his strange surroundings feeling disoriented, trying to figure out where he was and how he had gotten there.  His heart stopped trying to hammer its way out of his chest as the memories of what had happened came back to him, and he relaxed somewhat.  The sheet that was covering him had slid down his body, and he realized with embarrassment that he was still naked and he grabbed the sheet and pulled it around him while looking at Hannibal warily and wondering why he was in what was obviously the alpha’s bed. 

“I brought you some water—“

Will immediately got to his knees and literally snatched the water out of Hannibal’s hand and was gulping it down, water dribbling down his chin and onto his chest.  His mouth was so dry his tongue had been stuck to the roof of his mouth.  The water felt like heaven, cooling his parched mouth and throat.  Will felt Lecter trying to pull the glass away and growled. 

“Will, slow down.  It’s dangerous to drink water too quickly when you’re dehydrated.  Sip it, please.” 

Will lowered the glass, only because he needed to catch his breath, and then took a sip, while eyeing Lecter suspiciously over the rim of the glass. 

“That’s better.  Now, I’ve put your clothes in the bathroom.  Why don’t you take a shower and meet me downstairs.  I’m fixing us something to eat.” 

“You have a working shower?” Will asked, stunned, as he looked longingly toward the bathroom.  When was the last time he experienced an actual shower?  He must have been 12. 

“I do,” Hannibal said, smiling at Will’s expression.  “But since we do have a water shortage, keep it under two minutes please.  Now, I’ll just go downstairs and start—“ 

“Wait, what about Jack?  Is he alive?” Will asked, bracing himself in case it was bad news. 

“He’ll recover.  But we’ll talk more downstairs.  Now, into the shower with you,” Hannibal said, taking the empty glass from him and walking toward the door.  When he turned back he saw Will still kneeling in the same position, clutching the sheet to him and watching him.  Will was clearly making sure that he was out of sight before dashing naked into the bathroom.  Hannibal smiled to himself and couldn’t help but think how good Will looked in his bed. 

 

Will spent the first 30 seconds in the shower just moaning with pleasure as the water cascaded down his body.  He sighed with regret when he realized his time was limited and soaped up quickly with _Doctor_ Lecter’s nice smelling soap. 

As he got dressed he had to admit that the shower had felt like paradise.  Sniffing his shirt he realized with annoyance that his clothes were clean, but they smelled distinctly of alpha now. 

He walked out of the bathroom back into the bedroom and looked around the room more closely now, studying the details.  He saw bookcases stuffed with books, rich furnishings, including that big soft bed, paintings gracing the walls, and even a plush oriental rug on the floor.  Somehow the good doctor had managed to keep his lifestyle despite the apocalypse. 

He headed downstairs, marveling at how beautiful the house was.  It showed no signs of damage or ransacking whatsoever.  Everything was neat and tidy.  And, he hadn’t run into another single person.  Was it possible that Dr. Lecter lived in this large house alone?  It would be surprising if he did.  Someone with his looks and position of power would have omegas and betas throwing themselves at him. 

He followed the smell of cooking to a large, modern kitchen, and, sure enough, Dr. Lecter was in there standing at a kitchen island slicing up vegetables that he recognized from their greenhouses.  Gone was the barbaric-looking alpha from the snake pit, and in its place was an elegant looking man, clean shaven with neatly combed hair, wearing a white dress shirt and an apron, much to Will’s amusement. 

“Ah, Will,” Hannibal said, looking up at him.  “You look much better.  Come out to the patio and have a seat, he said, carrying a plate of vegetables outside with him and using tongs to place them on a grill next to some chunks of meat. 

There was a table out on the patio already set up with a clean tablecloth and two place settings. 

“You have a beautiful home,” Will said, looking around the patio and then sitting down.  He was surprised to see pots filled with colorful flowers hanging on the corners of the pergola that was keeping the worse of the sun off the patio. 

“Thank you.  This actually used to be my home before the apocalypse, and, in a way, it’s the reason I ended up as Dolarhyde’s first lieutenant,” he said. 

“How so?” Will asked, curious despite himself. 

“After the apocalypse happened most people in this area moved away hoping to find somewhere else less devastated.  I knew there was no such place, so I stayed put.  Dolarhyde and his people chose this area to set up in and, of course, some of his lieutenants took a liking to my home and wanted me to vacate it.  I naturally refused.  Dolarhyde ended up losing several of his top people.  He came to see me then with some of his people and I thought he was going to have me executed, but he offered me a position instead.  He said anyone who could take out his top people was someone he wanted on his team watching his back.  As his first lieutenant I also got to keep my home, so I took him up on his offer.  Of course, he would have had his people kill me had I refused,” Hannibal said wryly, smiling at Will.    

Hannibal went inside then and came back out with a glass of cool water and set it in front of Will.  “Here, drink that while I finish up our meal.  You’re still dehydrated.” 

“How long was I out?” Will asked, taking a sip.

“Nearly 24 hours.” 

Will choked on his water.  “What!” he said, looking at the position of the sun. 

“You really were quite exhausted, Will.” 

“And you said Jack is recovering?”    

“Jack will make a full recovery,” Hannibal said, looking up from the grill.  “I saw the snake that bit him so I knew what type of anti-venom serum to treat him with.  With the number of snakes migrating from the south nowadays I keep anti-venom on hand for emergencies.  Jack won’t be able to use that arm for a few days, but he’ll eventually regain full use of it.  His size probably helped save his life as well.  Someone smaller most likely wouldn’t have made it.” 

“Can I see him?” 

“I sent him back to your community in the supply truck with Alana, along with a shipment of water.”

At Will’s stunned expression Hannibal said, “I was afraid if he didn’t show up soon, your community would fear the worse and stage an attack, so he was recovered enough to have Alana take him home.” 

“Oh.”  Will remembered Jack saying he told Bev not to act for 24 hours, so maybe that was for the best.  Still…  “But why am I still here?” Will asked a bit nervously, remembering with embarrassment the heated way Lecter had been looking at him in the pit.  “You did promise to release all three of us if I succeeded in the pit, if you recall.” 

“And I always keep my promises, Will.  It’s just that you needed your rest.  Consider it doctor’s orders,” he said charmingly.  “Besides, I wanted to talk to you.” 

“About what?” 

“About the future of both our communities,” he said.    

“If you want to renegotiate our arrangement, you should wait and speak with Jack,” Will said. 

Putting the tongs down, Hannibal faced Will and said, Do you know that when I killed Dolarhyde and took control here, I had already decided it would be beneficial to take control of your community as well and bring both communities together, combining our forces and our strengths.  We have the water, but I realize you have the people who can effect change.  Dolarhyde wasn’t interested in change, he liked things the way they were, which is why I decided to kill him.  So when Alana brought your usual delivery, I kept her here in order to incite your people to attack.  I could have chosen to attack your community outright, but we would have lost more people that way trying to breach your walls.  However, by having your people attack us, we would have the home court advantage, as it were.  Imagine my surprise when the leader of your community made things much simpler by strolling right up to the front gate.  All I needed to do was kill him, and that would leave your community with a power vacuum, and in the confusion I would step in and take over.  But then you showed up with Jack, the omega who has been occupying my thoughts for the past two years.” 

“What?” Will said, looking up at the alpha incredulously.   

“There was just something about you, something that drew me to you just that one time you visited here.  I had asked Alana on several occasions to persuade you to accompany her during her visits here, but she said you always refused.  I tried to put you out of my mind, and I thought I had succeeded, but when I saw you again I knew that I hadn’t.  And then you went and totally derailed my plans,” he said, shaking his head as he picked the tongs back up and turned the meat on the grill. 

“And how exactly did I do that?” Will asked. 

“When I told Alana she could set you free, I was curious to see if you would flee or make an attempt to convince me to free Jack from the pit.  I was pretty sure you wouldn’t flee, and I had been looking forward with great anticipation to you trying to persuade me.  But there was no way I could have anticipated you offering to jump into the snake pit, risking your own life to try and save him.  When I told you that you had to strip, I thought that might dissuade you, but you would not be dissuaded.”  Hannibal faced Will now.  “When you jumped into the pit, it was the most incredible thing I’ve ever witnessed, even while my heart was in my throat fearing you would be bitten.  Then, after you succeeded and got Jack out of the pit, I considered not treating him.  After all, I had agreed to release the three of you, not treat him.  He most likely would have died if I hadn’t.  But after you fought so hard to save him, how could I then let him die?  I saved him to keep from upsetting you.” 

“What if I hadn’t succeeded?  What if I had been bitten?” Will asked, feeling completely overwhelmed at the moment. 

“I would have gotten you out of the pit and treated you, but left Jack to die.  I had no intention of losing you, Will.” 

“I got the impression you were interested in Alana,” Will said, remembering Alana said Hannibal was considering her as his mate. 

“Alana has been visiting here for the last two years and I’ve gotten to know her quite well.  She is beautiful, smart, and interesting, a truly remarkable omega who would make a wonderful mate and mother.  But it would have never entered her mind to jump into that pit to try and save Jack.  In fact, it’s something that most alphas wouldn’t have risked.  You’re extraordinary, Will.  When you offered to go into the pit you surprised me, and that’s not an easy thing to do. 

Will looked down at the table feeling totally confused and a bit uncomfortable.  “So, are you still planning to try and take over our community?” he asked. 

“I think joining our communities is the smart thing to do, but since I’ve allowed Jack to live and promised you that I would resume the water trade, I’m hoping our two communities can reach a compromise.  If your community were to move next to ours, you would be closer to the water source, and perhaps your people could teach ours how to grow food.  Eventually it is my hope relations will become friendly between our two communities and we can have more of an open gate policy between us.”  As he put the roasted vegetables onto two plates Hannibal said, “I intend to discuss this with Jack a bit later on when he’s had time to get over the fact that I had him thrown into the snake pit.  I know Jack’s type, and the welfare of his people is always his top concern and will outweigh his dislike of me.  When the time comes, I hope you will help convince him that it is the smart thing to do,” Hannibal said, and Will thought he heard warning in the alpha's tone.  “But right now let’s eat and relax and converse about less serious matters.  I’m sure you’re starved,” he said, adding chunks of meat from the grill onto the plates and then pouring some type of sauce over them from a small pot on the grill.   

Will knew Dr. Lecter was right about Jack putting his people above all else, but he also thought it would be a cold day in hell before Jack would ever trust this man after he had killed Dolarhyde and then tried to kill him; nor would he blame him.  But he kept his thoughts to himself and his mouth shut, partially to keep from drooling as the smell of food was reminding him how long it had been since he had eaten. 

Hannibal brought the plates over, setting one in front of Will and then setting one across from him.  He then removed his apron and poured two glasses of a dark red wine before taking a seat, laying a cloth napkin over his lap, every bit the gentleman now. 

As Will looked down at the plate, he was already starting to salivate.  He cut a piece of the meat with shaky hands and his body was screaming for him to eat, but he remembered the rumors circulating about cannibalism in Purgatory.  “Exactly what is it I’m about to put in my mouth,” he asked as calmly as he could, holding up his fork. 

“I call it _Snake à la Will_ ,” Hannibal said smiling. 

“ _Snake à la … Will_?” he said, staring wide-eyed at Hannibal.  Then his mouth twitched.  “Are you telling me …” 

“That this is one of the snakes you killed in the pit, yes.  Waste not, want not, after all.” 

Will couldn’t help it, he started laughing then, and once he started he couldn’t stop, all of the stress from the last 36 hours pouring out of him.  He laughed so hard tears were rolling down his face. 

When he finally stopped laughing he said, “Well, it looks like you’re able to surprise me as well, Dr. Lecter.” 

“Call me Hannibal, please.  I want us to be friends.  Now eat up, Will.  And then later on I’ll take you home.    

Will put the fork in his mouth and then closed his eyes and moaned as the flavor burst upon his tongue and the meat seemed to melt in his mouth.  “Oh god, it’s delicious,” he said, savoring it, looking across the table at this alpha, who was turning out to be quite a complex individual. 

As they ate together and talked, Will found the wine relaxing him and he was enjoying the conversation, despite himself.  Hannibal Lecter was a charming, intelligent, charismatic, and attractive alpha, something the omega part of him couldn’t help but admire, even while knowing there was a dark, dangerous side hidden just below the surface of the carefully crafted veneer he was currently presenting.     

They sat and talked for quite a while, and although Will wasn't really partial to wine, he drank freely, any liquids appealing to his dehydrated body.  Soon the wine bottle was empty, and when Will looked up at the sun he was surprised to see it hanging low on the horizon now. 

“I’ll help you clean up,” Will said, standing up and picking up his plate, “and then I suppose I should be getting back or they’ll think you threw me back in the pit,” Will joked. 

“You don’t have to go home, Will, if you don’t want to,” Hannibal said, walking up to Will and standing closer to him than Will was comfortable with.  “You can stay here tonight.  I can send word back to your community so they don’t worry about you,” he said, once again taking one of Will’s curls and rubbing it between his thumb and fingers. 

Will knew what Hannibal was asking, but despite the spark of unwanted attraction he felt growing for the version of Hannibal that he had just spent the last couple of hours with, he knew the barbaric Hannibal was in there just under the surface, and he didn’t trust that Hannibal, and being intimate with someone requires a great deal of trust.  This was still the same man who had left him tied up all night in the basement, the one who had thrown Jack in the pit to die, and the one who had made him strip down before he jumped into the pit. 

Will took a step back, putting some space between them.  “I really should be getting home.  But thank you for a lovely dinner and conversation,” Will said diplomatically. 

If Hannibal was disappointed, he didn’t show it.  They cleaned up the dishes side by side in relative quiet.  Then as they headed for the door to leave, Will suddenly felt his arm grabbed and found himself pushed up against the wall with Hannibal’s body pressed up intimately against his, a knee lodged between his thighs to keep him in place, and he was being kissed within an inch of his life.  A hand wrapped loosely around the back of his neck was stroking his bonding gland, sending jolts of desire straight to his core. 

When Hannibal finally broke the kiss, he looked down at Will, stroking his check now with his thumb and said, “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather stay?”

Will looked up at Hannibal feeling stunned and breathless.  He saw raw desire now in the alpha’s eyes.  He lowered his eyes to give him time to think while he seethed.  He wanted to slap him.  He wanted to tell him off.  How dare he attempt to seduce him after what he had put him through.  And how dare he touch his bonding gland when they barely knew each other!  Part of what had him upset was that he couldn’t pretend he wasn’t affected by that kiss, because he was.  He had never in his life been kissed with such unbridled passion.  But the other part of what had him upset was something else he saw in the alpha’s eyes when he broke the kiss:  Victory.  Hannibal was positive after that kiss that Will would succumb to his attempted seduction and just fall into his bed.  Hannibal was the type of alpha who always got what he wanted.  But Will’s empathy sensed that what he enjoyed as much as winning was the chase, the pursuit, overcoming his adversary, outsmarting them, weakening their defenses and coming out on top.  Hannibal Lecter always won.  Well not this time. 

And two can play that game. 

Will looked up at Hannibal and gave him his best besotted omega look and went in for the kill.  He wrapped his arms around Hannibal, and a leg for good measure, and pulled the alpha to him for a scorching kiss. 

Will had dated an alpha named Matthew Brown for a couple of years, and they had spent hours upon hours just kissing and touching each other.  As a result, Will had become quite an expert kisser.  He used every bit of that expertise now, every trick he had learned.  He explored areas of Hannibal’s mouth with his tongue the alpha probably didn’t even know existed.  He felt Hannibal trying to push him to the floor but he resisted.  When he finally broke the kiss he couldn’t help feeling smug when it was Hannibal who was looking stunned and breathless. 

“Perhaps we should take this upstairs to the bedroom?” Hannibal asked huskily and confidently, mistaking Will’s resistance to go down on the floor. 

Will looked up at him demurely through his lashes and said, “Perhaps another time.  I really am worried about Jack and am anxious to see for myself how he’s doing.”  The miniscule widening of Hannibal’s eyes was the only indication that he had surprised the alpha yet again.  The alpha really was very good and hiding his emotions, but Will had seen it and wanted to high-five himself.   

For five long seconds Hannibal just stared at Will intensely as if trying to figure something out, and by the fifth second Will had stopped feeling smug and was feeling nervous, wondering if he had erred and if things were about to turn violent.  But then a corner of Hannibal’s mouth lifted and he inclined his head and said, “Of course.  As you wish,” still the perfect gentleman. 

Although Will had tried to hide his own emotions, he wasn’t sure he’d done a very good job hiding his relief there at the end.  The good thing was, as soon as he was back at Camp Science he was going to do his best to avoid seeing Dr. Hannibal Lecter again. 

“Oh, Will, one other thing I forgot to mention,” Hannibal said, brushing a curl of hair off Will’s forehead, still much too close. 

“What’s that?” Will asked suspiciously.    

“I want you to take over the water pick-ups from now on in place of Alana.  I don’t want another two years to go by before we see each other again.  Plus, it will give us more time to spend together getting to know each other, and I want to get to know you much, much better,” he said pointedly.  “If you don’t come to pick up the water, there will be no exchange.” 

_Damn him._

“Of course,” Will said, trying not to grit his teeth.  He should have known Dr. Lecter wasn’t going to let him off that easily.  Oh, how neatly he had kept to their agreement but still managed to ensnare him. 

As they were driving toward Camp Science, Hannibal looked over at Will and smiled, flashing his alpha fangs.  For just a moment Will pictured a snake smiling and flashing his fangs at him.  Since the apocalypse, the entire world felt like one giant snake pit nowadays.  You had to watch every step you took because there was always some predator lying in wait, ready to attack the weak, to strike and swallow you up whole.  Hannibal was such a predator and he had made his intentions clear that he wanted everything they had, including Will himself.  Being desired by an apex predator is equal parts flattering and terrifying.  But Will had proven in the pit that he’s no easy prey, he’s a mongoose.  A mongoose may look harmless, but if a snake goes after it, it will not back down, and if that snake tries to bite it, the mongoose will not hesitate to bite back. 

Will smiled back at Hannibal then, and just like a mongoose facing a snake, Will made sure he showed all his teeth. 

  [](http://imgbox.com/ChbVYE64)

\- The End -

 

 [](http://imgbox.com/eLP6bLO3)

Hi, I’m a cute, helpless little mongoose …

 

[](http://imgbox.com/k7J96Byf)

… in your dreams!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who followed along, and for all your comments and kudos, and I hope everyone has a wonderful summer! -EA


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